The Aftermath
by yet-i-remain-quiet
Summary: Oliver finds Felicity after she has been shot in the limo and what happens next. Post 4x09.


As Oliver pulled the door of the limo open, the additional weight that pushed against the door startled him. He gasped in shock as Felicity's small form slumped against him, and pulled her out from the back seat, holding her tightly against him.

He could see patches of red spreading across her stomach and side, a stark contrast against her the light colouring of her coat. His hands shook, and he rested his fingers lightly against her neck. He held his breath as he tried to feel for the familiar steady beat of Felicity's pulse, the thud he had grown accustomed to feeling against him as he fell asleep each night. Time seemed to slow as he waited, his ears still ringing from the gun shots that had echoed through the car.

Oliver let out a choked sigh of relief when he finally felt the faint thump of her pulse against his fingers. He reached his hand into his pocket, fumbling around for his phone, and quickly pushed the button to call Diggle. As he recalled climbing over the bullet-riddled body of their driver, he was briefly grateful that Diggle hadn't been the one to drive them home

Oliver held the phone to his ear as he waited for Diggle on the other end.

"Oliver, man," Diggle laughed as he answered. "Shouldn't you be busy celebrating?"

Closing his eyes, Oliver released a shaky breath, unable to process how quickly the happiness of the night had unraveled.

"Oliver?" Diggle called. "Oliver, you there man?"

"Digg—," Oliver's voice caught in his throat. He tried to clear his throat, his eyes burned with unshed tears.

"Oliver!" Diggle's voice rose in alarm. "What's happening?"

"We- we were driving," Oliver struggled to get the words out. "We were driving. And Felic- Felci- she was there. And then we stopped. We stopped- and they, they shot at us. It happened so fast. I pulled her down, I had to keep her safe. But we had to move. We had to get away. So, I left her. I left her. And the driver. The driver was just lying there. And I drove. I drove away. But Felic- She.. she's -."

"Oliver, where are you?" Diggle demanded. "Where are you? I'm coming."

"The pier," Oliver choked. "We're at the pier."

"Hang tight, man. I'll call for an ambulance," Diggle said. "Help is coming."

Oliver nodded his head before remembering that Diggle couldn't see him. "Okay," he whispered into the phone.

He let his phone fall to the ground, pulling Felicity tighter to his body. His fingers hadn't left her neck, still feeling her faint, unsteady pulse. Regaining a little presence of mind, he removed his suit jacket and pressed it against Felicity's stomach in an attempt to stem the flow of blood.

"I'm sorry," Oliver whispered brokenly. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you." Tears seeped out of the corners of his eyes.

Oliver's ears continued to ring as he waited in the cold night air for Diggle to arrive. He rocked Felicity against him, holding her small frame close to his body.

His mind raced as he replayed the events of the night over and over in his mind. The feeling of complete and utter bliss when Felicity had accepted his proposal. He couldn't remember ever feeling that happy in his life. So content, so full of love. Those feelings, suddenly replaced with fear and horror as the car had pulled to a stop and the shots had rung out. He could barely remember pulling Felicity under him. The familiar instinct and need to protect her had overpowered any other thought in his mind. There had been no choice to make.

The sounds of sirens broke through his thoughts. He looked up to see the bright lights of the ambulance flashing in the dark. The sound of the tires screeched as they pulled next to the bullet ridden limo. A car door slammed.

"Oliver?!" Diggle's voice rang through the night. "Oliver, where are you?"

"Here," Oliver choked out, his voice cracked. He cleared his throat and tried to speak again. "We're over here."

Footsteps echoed across the pavement as they rushed towards where Oliver sat with Felicity.

Diggle raced around the car, his eyes wild as he looked around, his gun held out in front of him. He made eye contact with Oliver, his eyes wide in shock, and lowered his gun.

"We need the gurney," he yelled over his shoulder.

A pair of paramedics ran up behind Diggle, pushing a gurney between them. One ran over to Oliver, his hands outstretched.

Oliver jerked, holding Felicity closer to his body. His eyes flashed dangerously as he glared at the stranger.

"Mr. Queen," the man started. "I'm here to help you. I'm here to help her."

Oliver looked down at Felicity, as she lay still in his arms. He loosened his grip as the paramedic tried a second time to reach for her. Oliver flinched as the man's hands touched her.

"It looks like three separate hits," he called to his partner. The second paramedic moved the gurney closer, as the first moved to take Felicity from Oliver's arms.

"No," Oliver choked out. He tried to pull Felicity away. "You can't take her from me."

Oliver felt a hand touch his shoulder, he looked up and made eye contact with Captain Lance. Lance looked down at Oliver.

"Queen, they're going to help her. Let them do their job. You did everything you could. Let them help her."

Oliver looked back at the paramedic and slowly loosened his grip on Felicity's unmoving form. He could still hear her laughter in his ears, a stark contrast to now, where she was lying there so still, so quiet.

The paramedic nodded at him and carefully lifted Felicity's small body, the other paramedic helping as they lay her body on the gurney.

Once she was secure, the two men jumped into action. One held a mask over her nose and mouth, as the second moved to place gauze over the wounds. They pushed the gurney over the pavement to the ambulance.

Oliver stumbled unsteadily to his feet as he tried to follow. He watched the men lift the gurney into the back of the ambulance, until he took a few shaky steps towards the ambulance before he felt a hand on his chest.

"Mr. Queen, I'm sorry," the paramedic looked at him. "There isn't room for you in here. We need the space to help her."

Oliver's mouth opened and closed, unable to form the words, unable to voice the thoughts that raced through his mind. He watched, unable to move as the doors to the ambulance slammed shut. A deep seeded feeling of panic filled his body when Felicity disappeared from his sight.

"I'll drive you," Lance's voice startled him. "We'll be right behind them."

Oliver let himself be guided to Lance's vehicle. He moved in a daze. He slumped into the seat of Lance's car. The fight seemed to have left his body, exhaustion taking over. He leaned his head against the window and closed his eyes.

He could still hear the sound of gun shots ringing in his ears. He closed his eyes tighter, clenching his fists over his eyes as he tried to block out the memories of the night's events.

"We're here," Lance's rough voice broke through Oliver's thoughts. He shook his head and pushed the door of the cruiser open. He stumbled out and raced through the doors of the emergency room.

He looked around, his eyes wild until he spotted a flash of blonde. Felicity's hair. He pushed his way to her, muttering apologizes as he pushed past a group of nurses. He followed as the doctors pushed her gurney into a separate room.

He watched as the doctors and nurses worked, attaching cords and machines to Felicity's small body. They worked in a flurry, replacing the gauze on Felicity's stomach and side, throwing the blood stained ones to the side.

Oliver rubbed his hands roughly over his face, as the beeping of the heart monitor filled the room. The doctor and nurse's voices blurred together as they worked. Oliver focused on Felicity's still form as the doctors continued to work in a frenzy to save her.

A shrill, continuous beep broke Oliver's concentration. His eyes flew to the heart monitor in horror. His body froze in panic as a flatline screamed across the screen. He felt his breath catch and wondered briefly if his own heart had stopped beating as he stared in horror.

The doctors around him sprang into action. They shouted orders as they ripped Felicity's shirt open. A nurse placed the pads of the defibrillator on Felicity's chest.

"Charge 300. Clear."

Oliver heard the sound of the electric shock, he flinched as he watched Felicity's body jump on the table.

"Nothing. Charge again," the doctor called. "Clear."

Oliver closed his eyes as he felt his world closing in. A thought forced its way into his mind. A picture of a world where Felicity Smoak, didn't exist. A world without her babbles or pink lipstick. A world without her short skirts and laughter. A world he didn't wake up every morning, holding her to his chest. A world where she wasn't she wasn't there to believe in him, to help him, to love him, to fight with him.

"No," Oliver mumbled as the doctor ordered for a third charge. He didn't accept that, he couldn't accept that. "No, Felicity! You can't leave me. I need you. I love you."

Oliver watched as Felicity was shocked for a third time, her body jumping from the bed. Time seemed to slow as he, and the doctors, waited. He held his breath, as he waited to see if the shock had worked. If it had restarted her heart. If it would bring her back to him.

Oliver took a step towards Felicity's form on the bed. He felt a hand on his shoulder, holding him back.

"No," he yelled as he tried to pull away. "No, Felicity. You are not done fighting."

Beep… Beep…

The sound of the heart monitor broke the silence.

"She's back," the doctor stated.

Oliver felt his body sag in relief.

"Mr. Queen," Oliver heard a soft voice to his right. He turned to see a nurse. "We need you to wait in the waiting room. She needs surgery. You need to let us do our job. Your girl's a fighter. We'll take care of her."

Oliver felt himself be guided out of the room. He looked back over his shoulder, his eyes caught one last glimpse of Felicity. He looked down at the nurse.

"I need her," he choked out.

"We will do everything we can to bring her back to you, but you need to go right now and let us do our jobs."

"Oliver," multiple voices called out to him as he entered the waiting room. He looked up to see Diggle, Donna, and Thea all standing and staring at him. Their faces filled with fear.

Donna ran forward, throwing herself into Oliver's arms.

"My baby," she sobbed into Oliver's chest. "Why is this happening?"

Oliver stood, frozen, unable to move, his breath coming out in shallow pants. He raised his eyes to meet Diggle's, who was watching him warily.

"I'm going to fix this," he swore, looking into Donna's tear-filled eyes. "They don't get away with this."

A crease formed between Donna's eyes, so similar to the crease that he had seen between Felicity's eyes when she was worried about something. "How?" she whispered.

A deep feeling of anger and rage began to build in Oliver's stomach. He clenched his hands into fists at his sides.

Diggle stepped forward, a look of understanding on his face. "I'll drive," he stated.

Donna grabbed Oliver's arm. "Where are you going? What are you going to do?"

Oliver looked at Felicity's mother, worry evident across her features. He looked into her tear-filled, bright blue eyes, eyes that mirrored Felicity's. Felicity who was on her way to surgery. Felicity who might not—

No, he told himself. She's going to be fine. And Darhk would pay for what he had done.

Oliver tried to smile at Donna, "I'll be back," he promised. "There's something I need to do."

Thea stepped forward, she wrapped her arms around Donna's shaking form. "I'll stay," she reassured her. "Oliver just needs to change. He needs a shower. He needs to talk with the police. Then he'll be back."

Donna nodded. "Oliver," she whispered. "I may be blonde, but I'm not that blonde. I know there's more going on than what you're telling me. And maybe I don't need to know. Don't want to know. But promise me something."

Oliver looked at Donna. A fierce look crossed her features. A look he had seen on Felicity's face a few times. He was struck with the thought of how similar the two women were, despite appearing to be as different as night and day.

"Promise me, you'll make them pay. Make them pay for hurting my girl. Do whatever it takes."

Oliver lifted his head in surprise, remembering a time Felicity had spoken those words to him. "I promise," he swore. He looked past Donna to Diggle, and the pair walked out into the night.

"So, what's the plan?" Diggle questioned as they climbed into the car.

Oliver felt his hands shaking with rage. He tried to take a deep breath to calm himself. "Find Darhk."

Diggle nodded. "That won't be easy. The ghosts don't like to share that information."

"Then we make them talk," Oliver gritted out. "I'll do whatever it takes."

Diggle turned the steering wheel as they pulled into the garage in the lair.

Oliver was out the door before the car had fully stopped. He grabbed his suit, running to the washroom to change.

When he came out, Diggle was standing by the computers with his arms crossed.

The partners stared at each other.

"John," Oliver started. "There's going to be a body count. If you chose to leave, I won't hold it against you."

"Oliver, you should know, whatever your play is, I've got your back," Diggle vowed. "It's Felicity. There's no choice to make."

Oliver nodded once. "It's Felicity," he agreed.

Diggle picked up his helmut. "Let's do this."

The two headed back towards the car. Both filled with a strong need to avenge their teammate. To make someone pay.

It would all end tonight.


End file.
